Coming up on the end to the first month of the 2018 season and I can’t even remember the last time I wrote in here. As a writer, this makes me look piss-poor… But, hey, I put the pro in procrastination!

One thing that made me want to get a post out was a message I received from a young man the other day. In it, he let me know how he has loved the trilogy I wrote and how powerful it was for him. He even goes on to tell me that I’m one of his favorite authors. Now, I have to admit these are the things that keep me going, call it writer’s adrenaline. And as an Indie writer, who does as little marketing as I have, I don’t get to experience the reader’s reactions or interpretations of my works. Generally, that only happens when its either bad or I beg. This young man went out of his way to make my day if not week by just telling me he read my books. Expounding on the way he enjoyed them almost made me feel unworthy to a point, but filled my heart with such joy that I hope the next book will keep me in his favorite author category. Thanks, dude. You rock.

Okay so, brief run down on what’s going on thus far:

Finishing up a stand alone horror book under the working title of American Red. Rough chapters are available on WattPad if you are daring enough to give it a try. CLICK HERE

Audiobook for A Time to Reap is underway. It is surreal to hear my thoughts and words come out of a narrator’s mouth, but it’s so exciting, I can’t wait to share it with everyone this Spring.

Digital Box Set of The Legend of Carter Gabel is being proposed. That way, Kindle lovers can get all three for one low price and never have to skip a beat. This may be coming out as early as March for those interested. Might also branch this out to Nook, iTunes and wherever is prevalent.

Podcast… yes, that’s right. I will have a podcast coming out soon with my wonderful co-host Kate M. Colby. We’ll be discussing a sci-fi or fantasy book over a drink, we’ll have a book group on Goodreads and all the social media things. Stay tuned for more!!

Anywho, that should about cover the fun things. If you think of something you want to ask, let me know. I hope everyone has a great weekend. Keep reading, writing and reviewing!!

So, this Friday, my last book in the Legend of Carter Gabel series will be released. Last Book. Whew, about three years ago, I didn’t think this was ever going to be an option, let alone a completion of something. I’ve met some great people thus far and can’t wait to meet a ton more.

I hope you’ll be able to share your thoughts with me as I continue in the background on another project I hope to announce in July. For now, I’m just patiently waiting for copies to go out and feedback to come in.

On an awesome note, my first reader powered through the novel on the first night she got her hands on it and left me this review.

You know how much of a cool thing reading one of these reviews is like?

To keep it short and sweet. I adore you all for reading and staying with me. This has been a most excellent adventure.

Like this:

The first month of summer has unofficially begun and it is by far the most hectic and jam-packed of my year. Mainly, it’s because I help coach softball and when we aren’t practicing we’re playing. On top of that, I’ve been trying to squeeze out the last book in my Legend of Carter Gabel series for months, it seems.

Sadly, I tried to commit and stick to a release date that is not going to work out. Going off of many different, albeit loose, equations, my first round of edits will most likely reach me at the last possible minute, which is this Friday. I have a tournament this weekend out of town… yes, with that math and possibly two more rounds of editing, formatting and getting the final cover layout for paperback. June 9th is far too close for me to assume I’ll have a finished copy ready by next Monday.

Sorry, I was pretty good at math, but managing the Indie aspect alone in this chaos between the PayPal incident, softball, my daughter’s first prom and a lot of little things crammed in-between, I feel like I’ve let a lot of waiting people down. Amazon has punished me for my lack of judgement by saying I can’t use pre-order for a year now… I guess I’m grounded?

So, the best I can do is say the release is moved now to 6/30/17. If it’s done sooner, trust me, you’ll get it sooner. I hate to put this off one second let alone three weeks, but I can’t change it again and if something catastrophic put the placeholder out instead of the finished MS, you’d be equally disappointed.

But there’s some good news!

I’m working on a new story!!

It’s called American Red. It’s a nod to horror and mystery and it involves two young brothers who are possessed by demons. These demons tempt them to use powers they now possess at the risk of letting the demons control more of their bodies. When an apparent kidnapping takes place at their school, the boys have to decide whether or not using those powers is worth the risk.

I’m currently posting it out on WattPad as I finish each chapter. So, it’s unrefined, but I’m pretty happy so far. Please give it a shot, share it, share whatever you think about it! I’ll keep posting chapters out there as long as I stay ranked, but my ranking is dropping so I need your help!

Come have a look-see as we wait for the last in the trilogy to makes it’s way here!

Next Friday, A Time to Die will be going to the editor. From there, it shouldn’t take longer than a couple of weeks before I have my final draft back. From that point, it’ll jump right into the lap of a formatting artist and finally, a revised full cover piece from my cover artist to wrap it all up.

What’s that mean for you?

Well, if all goes according to plan, there will be a final installment of the Legend of Carter Gabel series in your hands in less than a month!!

I will of course keep you more up to date as the weeks progress along this last slide into home base. But, as we know, occasional downfalls occur. And with them, things could get hinky.

Hinky = Effed Up, without making grandmothers cringe.

What will happen from there? I can only hope good things. I have a lot of pots on the stove cooking, in terms of new reading. I need everyone’s help in making sure I can serve them up though. If I go Indie, that’ll be a long time to wait at the pace I’ve set. But, the more and more people’s hands my book gets into, the better chance I have of delivering stories.

Sooooooo, share your thoughts out there with a review if you haven’t already! Or tell a friend looking for a good book. Or if you didn’t like it, donate your copy to a teen group like Boys Club or Girls Inc or your local library.

Indies thrive off of word of mouth and if we get enough help, you can be one of those people saying, I knew him when… I remember chatting with him once…. or I actually got to meet them before the movie ever got made! How cool will you be?

Like this:

There are those days and sometimes weeks where you are thrown into a world of shit. You may see it coming, fear it coming, but lo and behold, here it is. For some people it may be financial, emotional, physical or psychological. In the midst of it, if you happen to get into a fight with another person, the problem only amplifies.

What I’m learning is that fights have a unique ability to both cloud the truth with misconceptions and illuminate all of your own faults. In a way, it’s like deconstructing an object to try and put it back together properly. In a lot of cases, we revert to putting things back together in the only way we know how and it’s the same piss-poor situation all over again. Every now and again, you get a chance to improve and make it better. The trick with improvement is seeing the whole picture and making sure it’s what’s best for everyone, self included.

I hate fighting, mainly because it highlights my own inadequacies and affirms all of the things I already doubt in myself. And I don’t know what it was, but something clicked for me. The worry is worse than actually doing what I fear all along. This is both in terms of my private life and my professional life.

That hot ball of wire in the pit of my stomach can all go away if I just stop worrying about how the “what if” moments, and completely rule them out. I’m trying to put a positive spin on a lot of dark thoughts, which as an author tends to happen. So many emotions get bottled up only to focus and write them out into a story somewhere and when you have no story to write, they eat away at your mind like acid. I’d like to say that everything feels grey and colorless, but realistically, it feels like I lost my sight and I’m trying to remember what colors look like.

Main point, as terrible as it feels to go through these moments of deconstruction, there is a relief in the possibility of making myself better.

Like this:

As much as I try to stay to a certain day a week to post, I will inevitably have one or two of “these” weeks. Going from so much involvement and interaction with my cover reveal last week, wrapping up two giveaways from Goodreads and getting an updated proofing of my book had me going every direction, with no clear intent mind you.

Planning, as boring as it sounds, is necessary. Knowing when, how, where, and most importantly WHY an author does something is really the cornerstone to moving forward. My lack of planning has been rectified by great friends, family and fellow authors willing to pitch in before I tumble over a cliff.

For anyone not on the Internet last week, here’s a quick shot of the next cover:

I know what you’re thinking…

Annnnd, you’re right. Thank you…or you’re welcome. Both.

After the week started winding down, I found myself trying not to seek your attention without a real purpose. I love sharing and chatting and liking all the things you do, but I’ll still try to limit myself to a couple posts a week, a few random pics and all the updates on the new book as possible. Otherwise…

…itchies start setting in.

For anyone still reading and interested in stats, I had 1,626people register to win A Time to Reap and 743register for A Time to Live. That’s over 2,000 entries!! I was sitting back like…

So, if I see you out there, don’t be alarmed if you get an attack hug.

If you are reading this and want a copy of your very own, there are links on the titles above in two different formats, Kindle and Paperback! Until next time, peeps!

Today is the last day you can register on Goodreads for 1 of 2 copies of A Time to Reap! Almost 1200 people have signed up for the chance and the window closes at midnight tonight. It means a lot to see that number higher than any of my previous giveaways I’ve ever done so please share.

Like this:

Good morning everyone! With the unfortunate theft of my editing budget, the release date got pushed back. But that doesn’t mean I can’t continue to share! So, today you will be seeing my official cover in the completion to the Legend of Carter Gabel series. It’s been a very fun journey and I’ve met some amazing people along the way. Most that are helping me are linked below, so please go and check them out!

Also, as an added gift, I have my book available for pre-sale on Amazon for only $0.99! So, CLICK HERE and the link will take you to where you can invent less than a dollar for a great surprise in the months to come.

Without further ado…

Carter Gabel saved his own life, and rescued his city from destruction. But, after the Pirates forced him into hiding, he spent years holed up in Crighton, city of ghosts. Just as he thinks the world has forgotten him, a knock on the door interrupts his life and as he opens it, his next journey begins. An unexpected foe waits for him at the end to challenge everything he knows and all that his future holds. What must Carter do to survive? And what does he sacrifice to become a legend?

Please feel free to share this post as much as you can and please comment. I love comments!

A big thanks to all who are helping me today!! Click on them to see their sites and all their own work:

As an author, my general nature is to want everybody to read my story AND simultaneously hoping no one ever does. It’s a strange dichotomy, I know, but I think I just love entertaining and hate when that falls short.

Regardless, thanks to SnapChat, I have put together a wonderful skit of some of the faces I get when seeing reviews…enjoy.

Like this:

Some of you may have seen my post the other day about the person who hacked my PayPal account and siphoned out the equivalent of my editing cost. <insert angry tirade here>

Then I had a haircut and when I walked into the salon, my hairdresser looked pretty much like how I felt, generally unhappy. She asked about my day, I asked about hers, chit-chat ensued. Then after I relayed my woeful tale, she proceeded to tell me about hers. She and her husband had recently moved and as a splurge, they hired movers. Fun right?

Only issue was, once the movers were gone, she noticed her cash and some of her jewelry was also missing. She won the worst day award, hands down. My money will come back to me (same as hers), but her wedding ring and other items handed down to her aren’t replaceable. Beyond that, it was their home. My online account can get redone, credit restored, etc. Anyone who has had a break-in knows how vulnerable and fragile and angry that can make you.

I guess my point is, someone always has it better than you and someone always has it worse. Strive to be the example of what better looks like for those that are struggling.

And to the person who took my money, I hope you have a constant static shock on everything you touch in life. #blessed